This invention relates to a combination shipping pallet/container and more particularly to an improved shipping pallet/container which may be utilized not only with forklift trucks, but with small hand operated jack trucks commonly used in material handling. The new and improved combination shipping pallet/container contains new and improved means for locking at least a portion of the structures together to provide a more rigid container.
The use of pallets for shipping large quantities of articles which must be stored at their ultimate destination in the shipper's warehouse is, of course, known in the art today. Such prior art pallets were generally made of wood in various configurations and were designed for receiving the forks of a forklift truck which generally was used to convey the loaded pallet from the shipping vehicle to the warehouse of the shipper and/or user of the contents of the pallet.
Since the cost of manufacturing a wooden pallet was often extremely high when compared to the cost of the goods carried on the pallet, various manufacturers have attempted throughout the years to minimize the cost of the pallet structure by providing pallets made of materials less expensive and lighter in weight than the standard type wooden pallets. One such attempt at manufacturing of this nature is taught in the patent to James A. Farrell, U.S. Pat. No. 2,576,715, issued Nov. 27, 1951. In this patent, the inventor attempted to provide an improved pallet by forming it from a fibreboard material which was relatively inexpensive and was shaped into the desired configuration for use as the pallet.
Other attempts at minimizing the cost of palletizing resulted in the evolution of the combination shipping pallet/container which was a container having a pallet structure built either inside the container or outside of the container as one unit. This construction eliminated the use of wooden pallets as had been previously practiced in the art. Many variations of the combination shipping pallet/container were developed for the marketplace and many were successful for the purpose designed.
One type combination shipping pallet/container developed is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,417, issued May 1, 1973, to DeWayne L. Lawson. In this original version of a shipping pallet/container, four-way entry was provided in the outer container for use with a standard forklift having a plurality of forks protruding from the front thereof. Such a container, while satisfactory for use with forklift trucks, did not prove to be satisfactory when utilized with the jack trucks which are used in warehouse handling of palletized loads. A jack truck of the type mentioned is shown in the applicant's drawing FIGS. 14-16 and comprise a generally upstanding hand or motor operated jack truck which has two extended fork prongs which are designed to fit into the palletized load. The fork prongs of a jack truck, as compared to a forklift truck, have wheels or rollers positioned in the end thereof which are used to stabilize the fork whenever the load is carried by the wheels of the truck. It can be readily seen that whenever a jack truck is utilized in the shipping pallet/container as shown by the U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,417, the container could not be lifted from the ground since the wheels of the truck in the forward portion of the truck forks would interfere with the lifting of the container by bearing against the bottom of the shipping pallet/container.
In designing the subject improved shipping pallet/container, new and novel means were developed for locking the outer structure of the unit to the inner container structure and also, if desired, to the inner pallet structure.
These novel features of the applicant's improved combination shipping pallet/container are not contained in prior art palletized containers or combination shipping pallet/containers as will now be more fully discussed when referring to the specific prior art patents. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,434, issued to J. DeSimas on May 6, 1969, simply teaches an outer container having four-way forklift entry with a plurality of spacers 16, which are glued to a board 15, which is in turn strapped to the bottom 18 of the outer container. This type of container is satisfactory for use with a forklift truck but is not satisfactory for use with the before mentioned type jack trucks and there are no teachings in the patent of the use of an inner container as taught by the applicant's invention used in combination with the new and novel means for locking the inner and outer structures together for the purpose of transmitting the load as will be mentioned more fully hereinafter.
Another prior art type container development is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,595, issued to G. P. Props, on Feb. 6, 1951. This container is not a combination shipping pallet/container but is basically a fruit display box or a telescoping box as is known in the trade and which is used for the display of fruits. However, it is noted that no pallet structure is incorporated in this container and no locking together of the structures has been provided by the inventor for the purposes herein described.
Another prior art palletized container structure unit is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,073,500, issued to S. L. Goodrich et al, on Jan. 15, 1963. This patent teaches the use of an inner container which is positioned within an outer container with both of the containers being nailed to a standard wooden pallet which is fastened on the outside of the container. In essence, the Goodrich patent teaches simply a standard type double wall container positioned on top of a standard type wooden pallet which may or may not be nailed to the container since the pallet is not a necessary complement of the invention and may be eliminated as desired.
A further prior art development in the combination shipping pallet/container art is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3.666,165, issued to Edward L. Osborne, et al, on May 30, 1972. This invention teaches a composite container and pallet with the pallet being provided from a plurality of tubular members held in a parallel space apart relationship with the tubular pallet structure as shown. The container may be used with forklift trucks but could not be used with jack trucks as has been provided for in the applicant's invention. In addition, the pallet structure of the subject patent is not fastened to the outer container as by glueing or stapling or other means and uniform cross bracing of the structures is not obtained nor is the co-action of the pallet with the inner and outer containers obtained as is taught by the applicant's device and as will be more fully described hereinafter.
A further prior art shipping pallet/container is taught in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,480,196, issued to J. DeSimas on Nov. 25, 1969. This patent, like the first DeSimas patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,434, is simply a four-way entry pallet/container which is constructed around an outer container and does not contain the novel features of the inner container co-acting with the outer container which may be utilized with a jack truck as is taught by the applicant's invention.
Another patent issued to DeSimas is the U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,912, issued Mar. 9, 1971, which is a combination shipping pallet/container which may be used with forklift trucks and jack trucks; however, there is not provided in the subject patent any inner container feature as is taught by the applicant's invention with its cross bracing and rigid locked structure hereinbefore mentioned.
Another palletized container of prior art design is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,364, issued to J. P. Fischer, on Dec. 13, 1966. This patent, like the Goodrich patent, is simply a known container construction which is positioned on a known type wooden pallet with the container being rigidly fastened to the pallet.
Pallet structures of the known type which are formed of other than wooden materials are shown typically in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,671, issued to H. C. Nicholls, on July 14, 1959.